US Assistant Secretary visits our Burkina Faso team

Marie Stopes International Burkina Faso has been honoured with a visit from the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Anne Richard, and a team from USAID. The agency is provided nearly $7 million from 2010-2013 for reproductive health and family planning activities in Burkina Faso.

Our team in Burkina Faso led the group on a tour of our Patte d’Oie centre in Ouagadougou, the capital. Assistant Secretary Richard met with family planning clients at the centre which on some days receives more than 100 visits from local women.

Country Director, Flore Dionmian, welcomed the visitors to our centre, and Director of Clinical Services, Claire Nabyoure, used educational materials to demonstrate the full range of family planning services offered to women.

Our team also explained how de-medicalisation – a way of making the client experience more accessible - and vocal local - a technique that helps clients feel comfortable and effectively manage any pain - help put clients at ease.

During her visit, Assistant Secretary Richard met two of our clients who told her why they choose to use the family planning services provided by us in Burkina Faso.

One of the women said she had her hands full with three young sons. But family planning means that, for the first time, she can choose the size of her family and decide for herself if she wants to have more children.

The Assistant Secretary told staff at our centre “there are many reasons to be proud of what you are doing”, and reflected that if she were a young woman in Burkina Faso, our centre would be the best place to go for family planning services.

Later, Flore and Claire, shared their expertise at a round table discussion with Assistant Secretary Richard, UNFPA and other international and local organisations.